In current caller to emergency dispatch systems (e.g., 9-1-1 dispatch), a dispatcher may ask a multitude of questions to the caller and record the answers. These questions may be directed to determining the caller's name, emergency and location based on the answers given by the caller. Only after collecting all of the necessary information can the dispatcher locate an appropriate nearest first responder to be dispatched to the location of the caller.
One potential cause for slow response time is an inability of the dispatcher to understand the caller. In the best case scenario, the caller is calling from the home address on a clear line with no background noise, and the first responder may be dispatched immediately. In most cases, the caller is somewhere other than their home address, calling from a noisy location, has trouble articulating his or her emergency and location, and the dispatcher has to somehow figure out who to send and where.
Lack of communication arising from language barriers, poor reception or a panic stricken caller who cannot speak or is screaming contributes to delays in response time. In some instances, these issues may cause a complete inability for the dispatcher to dispense a first responder altogether. In domestic violence cases or instances when a caller cannot speak, the situation may become even more desperate because the dispatcher cannot communicate with the caller, and unless an accurate address or global positioning system (GPS) coordinate is established, no first responder can be dispatched.
Traditional emergency dispatch systems are also inefficient in handling possible abandoned calls for which the dispatcher does not hear an audible voice. An emergency dispatcher typically relies on the caller to provide audible voice based information about an emergency type, emergency location, and caller name. When the call has no audible voice or a caller is not responding to the emergency dispatcher questions, the call is flagged as a possible abandoned call and processed in a different manner then calls that are capable of audible voice communication. If caller is using an activated phone with a valid phone number, the emergency dispatcher listens for a waiting period of 30 to 40 seconds, and if no audible voice is detected during this period, the emergency dispatcher performs a re-bid that includes calling back the phone number derived from an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) database, as discussed in further detail below. The emergency dispatcher then listens for a re-bid waiting period of 30 to 40 seconds, and if no audible voice is detected during this period, the emergency dispatcher dispatches a first responder if a valid location can be established but does not dispatch a first responder if a location cannot be identified. If a caller is calling from a de-activated phone such as a phone that does not have a valid phone number (e.g., due to the phone being deactivated), the emergency dispatcher listens for a waiting period of 30 to 40 seconds, and if no audible voice is detected during this period, the emergency dispatcher closes the call. These waiting periods consume at least 40 to 80 seconds of time for each abandoned call and each emergency dispatcher, amounting to significant lost time for emergency dispatchers. As such, traditional emergency dispatch systems have significant time inefficiencies.
With the advent of functionality related to Phase II of the Federal Communications Commissions' E-911 initiative, a location of a caller may be determined by either triangulating the location based on multiple cellular phone towers; or in the case of a smartphone, by way of an exact GPS location determined by the smartphone device. This technology has improved response time, but in some cases several re-bids (i.e., calls from the emergency dispatcher back to the caller with requests for a location) are needed to obtain a useful caller location. In the case of triangulation in metropolitan areas, such location information is rarely accurate enough to locate a caller without his or her assistance.
One way for emergency dispatch systems to associate additional information with an emergency caller is by way of an automatic number identification (ANI)/automatic location identification (ALI) database. The ANI is a database of information configured to store name information and location information associated with telephone lines or telephone numbers. The ANI/ALI database may be used by emergency dispatch to retrieve the physical address and name associated with the telephone line from which a 9-1-1 call originated. This information may not be available for mobile phones that are designated as 9-1-1 only with no mobile plans, or throw away/disposable mobile phones. Also, such information may not be particularly useful to emergency dispatch systems for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phones or mobile phones, as such devices may be utilized at a location far removed from the physical location on file in the ANI/ALI database. Moreover, the ANI/ALI database provides only limited information about the caller.
As a result, current emergency dispatch systems are fraught with delays and inefficiencies, and in some cases, fail altogether because of communication or technical issues.